BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to ensure citizens are able to enjoy upcoming Durga Puja festivities without any hassles and inconvenience, Commissionerate Police has planned to form special teams to keep a close vigil on the criminals arriving in the capital city from neighbouring states.
Sources said there has been a surge in theft and snatching incidents during the nine-day festival as anti-socials from states like West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar arrive in the city to commit these offences. These anti-socials mostly come in groups and are accompanied by women members too.
DCP Prateek Singh said this year, special teams will be formed in different areas of the city and they will keep a close watch on the anti-socials coming from other states. “Each team will be headed by an officer and will visit different hotels and lodges to find out whether any suspicious person has checked in,” he added.
Singh said the anti-socials coming from other states and districts take the advantage of heavy rush at markets and pandals here and steal/snatch valuables from the citizens. “Monitoring of CCTV footage through the integrated command and control centre here will be enhanced to keep a vigil on the miscreants,” he said.
Like every year, the city police will ask the puja committees to ensure proper CCTV coverage at the pandals. “On the first day of puja in Nayapalli last year, about 10 to 15 anti-socials involved in stealing and snatching were nabbed from the spot and thereafter such incidents dropped. A close vigil will be kept at all the pandals this year too,” Singh said.